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Monthly Archives: November 2013

It seems during this wilderness walk we are often beset with spiritual battles.Eph.6:12. These are battles we cannot fight on our own and Eph.6:14 tells us what to do.

The past few weeks I have found myself in such a battle and tried to fight on my own. It seems when you do this depression can set in very quickly. Your mind at this time is unable to concentrate and for a time it appears Satan is winning. You pray and call to God but it seems He does not hear. You try to meditate on His promises but your mind is blank. Today, God made me realize He did hear and His answer came from an unexpected source. THE RABBIT

Proverbs 30:26 “The conies ( rabbit) are but a feeble folk, yet make their houses in the rock”

Spurgeon used this verse in his evening devotional and I was deeply touched:

Conscious of their own natural defencelessness, the conies resort to burrows in the rocks, and are secure from their enemies. My heart, be willing to gather a lesson from these feeble folk. Thou art as weak and as exposed to peril as the timid cony, be as wise to seek a shelter. My best security is within the munitions of an immutable Jehovah, where his unalterable promises stand like giant walls of rock. It will be well with thee, my heart, if thou canst always hide thyself in the bulwarks of his glorious attributes, all of which are guarantees of safety for those who put their trust in him. Blessed be the name of the Lord, I have so done, and have found myself like David in Adullam, safe from the cruelty of my enemy; I have not now to find out the blessedness of the man who puts his trust in the Lord, for long ago, when Satan and my sins pursued me, I fled to the cleft of the rock Christ Jesus, and in his riven side I found a delightful resting-place. My heart, run to him anew to-night, whatever thy present grief may be; Jesus feels for thee; Jesus consoles thee; Jesus will help thee. No monarch in his impregnable fortress is more secure than the cony in his rocky burrow. The master of ten thousand chariots is not one whit better protected than the little dweller in the mountain’s cleft. In Jesus the weak are strong, and the defenceless safe; they could not be more strong if they were giants, or more safe if they were in heaven. Faith gives to men on earth the protection of the God of heaven. More they cannot need, and need not wish. The conies cannot build a castle, but they avail themselves of what is there already: I cannot make myself a refuge, but Jesus has provided it, his Father has given it, his Spirit has revealed it, and lo, again to-night I enter it, and am safe from every foe.

C.H.Spurgeon

Psalm 27:5 “For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.”

Recently, I have been very troubled by the way most of the visible church is presenting God. He is presented as a God who is totally dependent on man to perform any of His plans. I find Christianity is making MAN sovereign and God subservient.

It would take a book to present the scriptures that actually presents God as supremely Sovereign with no need of man at all. While searching this out on line I came across this posting by John Piper at DesiringGod.org. Mr. Piper presents God as the scriptures present Him and what a comfort this has been. Here’s what Mr. Piper had to say:

Thesis 1

My all-shaping conviction is that God created the universe in order that he might be worshipped with white-hot intensity by created beings who see his glory manifested in creation and history and supremely in the saving work of Christ.

Thesis 2

I am also persuaded that people need to be confronted with how self-exalting God is in this purpose. To confront them with this, I give a quiz:

Q 1: What is the chief end of God? A: The chief end of God is to glorify God and enjoy displaying and magnifying his glory forever.

Q 2: Who is the most God-centered person in the universe? A: God.

Q 3: Who is uppermost in God’s affections? A: God.

Q 4: Is God an idolater? A: No. He has no other gods before him.

Q 5: What is God’s chief jealousy? A: God’s chief jealousy is to be known, admired, trusted, enjoyed, and obeyed above all others.

Q 6: Do you feel most loved by God because he makes much of you, or because he frees you to enjoy making much of him forever?

Thesis 3

I press on this because I believe that if we are God-centered simply because we consciously or unconsciously believe God is man-centered, then our God-centeredness is in reality man-centeredness. Teaching God’s God-centeredness forces this issue of whether we treasure God because of his excellence or mainly because he endorses ours.